The Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup campaign is under threat of being derailed because of a major rift involving the coaching staff, which has prompted the intervention of Australian Rugby Union officials.
Also, many senior players have lost confidence in several members of the Australian team management, with the belief being that some officials are more concerned with being ego-driven than having the team’s welfare as their top priority, writes Greg Growden in his column, Monday Maul, in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Australian Rugby Union (ARU) sources on Monday night told Monday Maul that there were ”deep concerns” that the team will be seriously affected by the intensifying divisions within the camp, which rose to a head at the John Eales Medal function in Brisbane last Monday night.
Monday Maul has been told by several sources that at the function, Wallaby team officials bickered, and in front of stunned onlookers, at least one had ”heated arguments” with high-ranking ARU figures. These officials were surprised at how sensitive some members of the Wallaby coaching staff had become, especially as it is understood one of them had to be coaxed into remaining at the function.
Although the team management has deliberately attempted to hide this issue from the players, the Wallaby squad is fully aware of it, with the subject being a major source of conversation among them for some time.
Wallaby players are known to have taken great delight on John Eales Medal night in observing the unusual behaviour of one of their coaches, whom they believe was deliberately trying to gain greater exposure for himself.
The relationship between the four-man Australian panel of head coach John Connolly, his assistants Michael Foley and Scott Johnson and defensive coach John Muggleton has regularly been edgy. They are four vastly different characters, and it is no secret that several of them are not close.
It is known that if one gets more mention in the media or at public gatherings than another, jealousy arises. This even occurred at the long and rambling Eales Medal function, held at the cavernous Brisbane Convention Centre, where during the official speeches different members of the coaching staff were singled out for praise.
The competition between Connolly’s three back-up coaching members has often been seen to be intense, with Muggleton’s role in the team in particular being under-estimated at times.
Muggleton’s mood has also not been helped by him being overlooked for the Queensland Reds coaching position next season, especially as he failed to gain support from a number of ARU identities, who could have helped his cause.
This uneasy situation has also been promoted by Connolly generally taking a back seat role at training.
Unlike predecessors Bob Dwyer and Eddie Jones, who took a hands-on approach, Connolly very much stays in the background at training. He acts as an overseer, with Johnson the man with the whistle and the one barking the bulk of the instructions.
When the team has middle-of-the-field pow-wows, Johnson does most of the talking. Foley runs the forwards, while Muggleton organises the defensive drills.
Connolly generally wanders from one group to another, offering the occasional advice or instruction.
Nonetheless, anyone who attended Wallaby training for the first time would not pick Connolly as the head coach. Most would assume it was Johnson.
Training is a well-drilled process. But this has not stopped private complaints that the schedule has become stale — with the training sessions generally taking a similar course. There is a lack of spontaneity.
The fragile nature of the squad has also been on show at press conferences over the past year. Last season, when the Wallabies named their Test teams, all members of the coaching staff attended the press conferences.
At times Connolly looked genuinely ill at ease when Johnson answered questions with honesty, or hammed it up — such as last year before the Brisbane Bledisloe Cup match when, accused of spying at All Blacks training sessions, he produced his combat gear. This year the formula has been changed, and Johnson has hardly been sighted.
The assistant coaches are now in a rotation system, and only one attends the conference, sitting alongside Connolly. At a recent press conference in Sydney, Muggleton was alongside Connolly, but the defence coach was not asked a question by the large media contingent, not helping the mood within the Wallaby team environment.
Another potentially divisive factor has been the recent use of league great Andrew Johns at training sessions. Johns’s role in improving the kicking skills of various backline players, as well as showing them how to beat a man in attack, has irked one Wallaby coaching staff member who believes his authority could be affected if Johns becomes a regular assistant during the World Cup.
As one source said: ”This guy looks upon Joey Johns as a serious threat.”
The announcement of the Wallaby squad did not help matters either. There has been intensifying criticism about the perceived Queensland bias in the squad, with virtually each fringe selection going the Reds way.
The inclusion of veteran forward Matt Cockbain in the back-up squad has astounded many, as did Connolly’s comments that Reds five-eighth Berrick Barnes was picked for the final World Cup backline spot on 2006 form and not 2007 form.
There is also uneasiness between the Wallabies and head office. Connolly had an intensely strong relationship with the former ARU chief executive, Gary Flowers, not surprising considering he gave him the national job. Connolly is nowhere near as close with his new boss, John O’Neill, even though the chief executive has told him that past differences are exactly that, and it is now time for everyone to work together. However, Connolly remains ”edgy” around O’Neill.
Nonetheless, the Wallabies keep saying that everything is fine, and they will get over all these petty differences. But it will require strong leadership from O’Neill down to get the Wallabies back on track before they head to France in less than a month.
That’s why this week’s three-day Wallaby camp in Sydney is so crucial in getting everybody focused again. — Sapa